Railroad-spike.



W. S. CUTTING.

RAILROAD SPIKE.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.26.1916.

Patent-ed May 8, 191.?.

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"Ulli PATENT WILLIAM S. CUTTING', OF ONA'WAY, MICHIGAN.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

Application led January 26, 1916.

To all whom t 'may confie/mi.'

Be it known that l, WILLIAM S. CUTTING, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Onaway, in the county of Presque lsle and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Spikes, of which the following is a specification. l

rlhis invention relates to railway rail spikes, and one of the principal objects of the invention is to provide simple, reliable and efficient means for preventing the rail from loosening the spike.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rail spike which, when driven into the rail tie almost the entire distance, will automatically operate a pivoted member which is caused to assume a horizontal position in the tie when the spike is 'fully driven and preventing the easy removal thereof.

These and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a front view of an undriven spike. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig is a sectional view, reduced in size, of a rail tie and rail illustrating the manner of application of this spike thereto.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 4C designates the main body of this rail spike and which has the usual head 5 and wedge point 6. On that side of the spike which adjoins the rail when driven, a rectangular recess 7 is formed. A stop pin 8 and an additional pin 9 are fastened or riveted to the opposite walls of the recess 7 as shown. The pin 9 forms a pivot for the bayonet, the bayonet being centrally positioned in the opening` 11 of the bayonet operating member 12.

The upper part 13 of the member 12 is bent transversely so as to conform to the flange of the raill and to the lower portion of the spike head 5. rlhe member 12 is prevented from ordinary dislodgment by means of the pin 8.

rEhe operation of this spike is now as follows: When driving, the spike and parts thereof are in the position illustrated by the full lines in Figs. 1 and 2. 1t will be noticed that, in this position, there is no impedi- Specification of Letters Patent.

' rai-.enten tray s, ieri.

Serial No. 74,505.

ment. in the way of either driving or eX- tracting the spike from the tie 15. rlhe spike is now driven in the usual manner. lhen the spike is driven a sufficient distance so that the part 13 contacts with and is stopped by the flange of the rail 141, as will readily be understood, the next stroke of the driving hammer will nevertheless cause the spike to be driven still farther into the tie but will incidentally, on account of the impossibility of the downward move# ment of the member 12, cause the bayonet 10 to be forced outwardly from the recess 7 into the tie 15, as is clearly indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. To explain this action more fully, it will be noticed that part of the rear side 16 of the spur 10 is in angular relation with the extreme lower portion of the member 12. Driving the spike beyond the normal depth of the part 13 will have a corresponding effect to pulling the member 12 upward as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. rlhis action will cause the spur 10 to swing on its pivot 9, the bayonet assuming an approximately horizontal position in the tie as will be readily understood. It willnow be apparent that, should any external force be upwardly applied to the spike, there will be more than ordinary resistance offered by the spike owing to the fact that the spur 10 would retain its horizontal position, thereby offering a large amount of resistance to any upward movement of the spike.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that a rail spike made in accordance with this invention is extremely simple in construction, will prevent the action of trains over the rail from loosening the spike and will thereby prevent numerous accidents.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

`What is claimed is 1. A rail spike having a longitudinal recess therein, pins mounted in the walls of said recess, a spur pivoted upon one pin and normally positioned within the recess, a longitudinally movable member retained in the recess by one of said pins and slotted to receive said spur, one end of the slot being adapted, as the member is moved longitudinally in one direction, to impinge against the edge of the spur to throw the saine to a position at right angles to the length of the spike.

2. A rail spike having a longitudinal recess therein, pins mounted in the Walls of said recess, a longitudinally movable ineinber retained Within the recess by one of said pins and provided with a curved slot, one cnd of the member being outwardly loent7 10 a spur` pivoted upon one pin and extending through said slot and having a portion ol its rear edge inclined, adapted to bear against the end of said slot.

Signed at Onaway, in the county of Presque Isle, and State of Michigan, this 15 Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

Washington, D. C. 

